The Story of Fidgety Philip - by Heinrich Hoffmann

This is a very funny poem that I came across that describes the symptoms of adhd in 'Fidgety Philip' very accurately. The poem dates from the 1840's and part of a series of verses for children. The excerpt that follows could easily be a vignette from my own childhood:

"See the naughty, restless child,
Growing still more rude and wild ,
Till his chair falls over quite.
Philip screams with all his might,
Catches at the cloth, but then
That makes matters worse again.
Down upon the ground they fall,
Glasses, bread, knives forks and all.
How Mamma did fret and frown,
When she saw them tumbling down!
And Papa made such a face!
Philip is in sad disgrace."

Herr Hoffman seems to describe a child with adhd is like indeed!